November 2010 Current Events: U.S. News

Here are the key events in United States news for the month of November 2010.

Giants Beat Rangers to Win World Series (Nov. 1): The San Francisco Giants beat the Texas Rangers 3 to 1 to win the World Series. It's the Giants first championship win since 1954, when they were the New York Giants. They moved to the San Francisco market in 1958.

In Midterm Elections, Republicans Win House, Democrats Keep Senate (Nov. 4): The Republican Party gains control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, but the Democratic party retains the majority in the Senate. Two members of the Tea Party also have victories, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mark Rubio of Florida. Senate majority leader Harry Reid wins his reelection in Nevada and his fellow Democrats win key Senate races across the country; therefore, Reid maintains his leadership position. Representative John Boehner of Ohio is poised to become the new Speaker of the House, replacing Democratic Representative Nancy Pelosi of California.

Rangel Guilty of Ethics Violations, Panel Finds (Nov. 16): U.S. Representative Charles Rangel (Dem., N.Y.) is guilty of 11 ethics violations, including failure to pay taxes on his rental properties, a House panel finds. Rangel was not present when the panel announced the verdict. (Nov. 18): The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct recommends 9-to-1 that Rangel be formally censured for misconduct, following his recent ethics convictions. It is the most serious punishment a House member can receive, short of expulsion. If the censure is approved, Rangel will be the first person to receive this punishment since 1983.

Pelosi Will Remain Leader of House Democrats (Nov. 17): Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (Dem., Calif.) is re-elected by her fellow Democrats to lead her party in the next Congress. She will lose her position as House Speaker, as the Republican Party will be the majority party beginning in 2011.

Former House Majority Leader Tom Delay Convicted of Money Laundering (Nov. 24): Tom Delay, the former House Majority Leader from Texas, is convicted of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering involving corporate campaign contributions. He faces up to 99 years in prison in his sentencing.

Low Risk to Repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Pentagon Finds (Nov. 30): After surveying 115,000 active-duty and reserve service members in a nine-month study, the Pentagon announces that repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," law, which forbids gay and lesbian service members from serving openly in the military, will not affect the military's strength. Of those military personel surveyed, 70 percent believed repealing the law would impact their their units in a positive, mixed, or neutral way.